Mowi says it may sell feed division

Mowi has feed mills in Norway and Scotland with a production capacity totalling more than 650,000 tonnes.

Arctic Securities has been hired to take help with the review.

CEO Ivan Vindheim said last night: “In just a few years, Mowi has grown from a 400,000 ton farmer to a 600,000 ton farmer in seven different countries and 11 regions, with all the complexity that entails.

“We also have a large sales and processing operation in 26 countries. The time is therefore ripe to consider the future organisation of our feed division.”

The company stressed s that it is not certain that a transaction will take place, or on what terms, and Mowi said it will not comment further on the process until a potential agreement has been reached or the process has been completed.

There is also no mention of what price Mowi would want for the business.

According to the latest accounts, sales of Mowi Feed totalled NOK 13 billion (almost £1bn) last year producing 585,000 tonnes of feed and an operational profit of NOK 724m (£51m).

Its two feed factories in Norway and on the west coast of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye have a production capacity of 460,000 and 240,000 tonnes of feed respectively.

These sites generally supply almost all of the feed requirements to Mowi sites in Norway, Scotland and Ireland. Together, they also employ 140 people.